A provision in President Biden‘s Build Back Better social and climate legislation, which is still being hammered out in Congress, would help boost local news, which has been in significant decline, the first time the federal government would offer such help. It comes as about one-fourth of the nation’s newspapers have closed and half of local journalism jobs have disappeared over the past 15 years, leading to concerns about many communities not having access to important information. The provision would give a payroll tax credit to newspapers, digital news outlets, and radio and TV stations that employ eligible local journalists. They’d be able to claim a tax credit of $25,000 the first year and $15,000 the next four years for up to 1,500 journalists. While the provision does have some Republican support in Congress, others, including some top GOP members, have criticized it. AP notes some journalists also admit it can seem a bit questionable to get financial help from a government they cover, but many say it’s worth the risk because of the feeling of crisis about the situation.
(AP)